Dancing With Darkness
by Sayosia
Summary: Tatiana, after learning that she is actually one of the Lesser Powers, must face the ultimate challenge: the Lone Power.
1. Home At Last

**Chapter One: Home At Last**

_"She woke in the night, crying out. But there were no nightmares, no images in her head. She wished for them--a picture of him, something in her mind instead of the emptiness. Even a horrifying image. Even a nightmare."_

Adapted from _Ecstasia, _by Francesca Lia Block…

Tatiana sat there on the moon, staring at the earth with a touch of wistfulness. _What will become of this beautiful planet?_ She thought to herself. With a sigh, she stood and reached into her "pocket" to retrieve her most frequently used transit circle. It would not do well to sit here and linger over the unknown. In one short breath she spoke the words that would take her home. With a small _pop_ she appeared in her backyard which was so conveniently like Tom and Carl's. The hedges surrounding the yard gave her a sense of security that she gladly welcomed right now. If only _he_ hadn't… but no, she couldn't think about that. She mustn't think about that.

The moonlight spilled over the large grassy yard, onto the patio, and in through the window into her house like liquid fire. The beauty of it was amazing, so amazing that Tatiana had to stop and admire the sheer splendor of the moonlight. The ancient eyes that looked through hers saw what she saw, marveling in the peace and tranquility that Tatiana felt at this moment. _How will I ever live with what's living in me… with what I am?_ She asked herself. Even now, she could feel the power running through her veins, and such great power it was. _It was only a few months ago that I even learned what I was… the others know and they seem to have accepted what I am, but they seem weird somehow, as if they haven't completely come to terms with what I am._ She sighed as the summer breeze combed through her long white-blonde hair. _Whatever happened to the simpler times of my past?_

Tatiana, despite her deepest wishes to forget, started to remember what had happened. It had started a few years after her ordeal, right before Tom and Carl had come to tell her that she was being promoted to local advisory. One of the Powers That Be had come to visit her, here on earth, to tell her that she was the embodiment one of the Lesser Powers, and that she was in danger because of it. Shortly thereafter, _He _had come for her, and oh the temptation he'd offered… it had almost been her downfall, but some of the Powers had intervened and she'd been saved… for the moment. Even now she wasn't safe and she risked her freedom by being here now. But no one could stay away from the one thing they treasured most. For her, it was this house. It held so many memories, so many old treasures that she'd never understood in her younger years but understood now. It held her inheritance, both that of the Power inside of her and the ancient family secrets that her mother had left for her to care for and guard. This house, and everything in it, held all the love and the warmth of her parents despite the fact that they'd been dead for some time now. It was also a place of sadness and loneliness…

The old French doors opened easily, silently, as Tatiana approached. They recognized her power… the power of the one inside her, and were welcoming her home. Tatiana absentmindedly brushed the door frame with her hand, a tender gesture. She closed the doors behind her and stopped to take in the sight of the big hall. The house itself was more of a mansion, one of the only ones left in this part of New York. Everything in the house was exactly as she'd left it, not even a spec of dust marring the beauty of the polished dark wood in the hall or the glittering antique weapons mounted on the wall. Most of these weapons were relics of the greater weapons they'd once been. It seemed that the cleaning spells to keep things tidy were still in working order.

Tatiana held out her hand and her manual dropped into it without her saying a word. Her power was increasing more rapidly than everyone was expecting. She opened her manual and flipped to the back where she found the messages she'd received over the past few months from Taylor, her wizardly partner. She cringed as she read on and noticed that the entries became more withdrawn and bleak as he'd learned that she was not going to be replying. She touched the words, as if that would bring her closer to the closest friend she'd ever had, but all that she felt was the coldness of the paper. With a resigned sigh, she sat in one of the big arm chairs that lined the hall and thought about what she could say to Taylor after all these months.

"New message for Taylor," she said softly. Her voice was changing, she realized… just as she was changing, because of the Power within her. What she couldn't figure out was if it was for better or for worse. She stared at the blinking prompt as the manual waited for her to say something.

"Sorry I haven't talked to you in a while. I'm back now, so if you would like to see me just let me know and I'll be waiting. I can understand why you wouldn't want to see me, but I want to see you if it makes a difference. Please reply." She said.

Send? The manual asked her.

"Send," Tatiana said softly.

_Message sent_, the manual said. Tatiana shut her manual and said a short spell that sent her manual back to the pocket of otherspace that it was normally kept in. Taylor knew that if he wanted to see her he had to contact her mentally. That's how it's always been, every time they had fought and spent time apart. Tatiana listlessly stood up and walked into the living room, which was just as grand as the hall with its high ceilings and dark wood. Bypassing all the other objects in the room, she headed straight to the fireplace to look at the pictures kept in small silver frames on the mantle. They were the one thing she had to remind her of her parents. There was one of her parents on their wedding day… her mother looked radiant in her wedding dress. The dress was now hanging up in one of the upstairs closets. The next one was a family portrait, so it included her. At the time, she had been ten. There was another picture… a sadder picture, despite the fact that everyone had genuine smiles on their faces. It was sadder because her mother had been wasting away with a mysterious illness. Her last few months had been spent in the hospital, and she had been in a lot of pain. Both Tatiana and her father had tried to heal Tatiana's mother using wizardry, but it had been in vain. Tatiana leaned against the mantle, letting a few sobs escape.

"Tatiana?" A voice said questioningly. A few seconds later, Tatiana felt herself being pulled into a warm embrace, strong arms holding her tightly. Instantly, Tatiana knew that it was Taylor. She couldn't even begin to count the number of times he'd held her in this exact same way, when things had gotten a little rough for her.

"You know, I had every intention of storming in here and demanding where you've been and why you haven't answered my messages or calls." Taylor said softly. "I did not think that I would end up comforting you the way I usually have to after a particularly tough mission. Does that mean what I think it does?"

"If you're asking me if I've gone on such a mission, then my answer is yes." Tatiana said, pulling away.

"Why didn't the manual say anything?" Taylor asked. "Whenever I checked to see what your status said, it never said 'independent assignment' or anything that indicated such." Tatiana was silent for what felt like a long time.

"You know, I'll never understand why they didn't include you on this mission." Tatiana said finally, not answering is question. "Tom and Carl were included, which is odd since they're seniors. And then Kit, Nita, Dairine, and Roshaun were also included…" She trailed off.

"What happened?" Taylor asked in a firm, almost demanding tone. Tatiana sighed and sat down on the couch, motioning for Taylor to sit beside her.

"The day that I was going to be promoted to local advisory, one of the Powers That Be paid me a visit. They told me…" Here she broke off, as if fearing to continue. She took a deep breath. "They told me that I one of the Lesser Powers resides within me… that I _am_ one of the Lesser Powers." Silence greeted her words.

"Well, that's not a bad thing." Taylor said after a few seconds.

"You don't understand, though!" Tatiana cried. "That puts me and essentially everyone I know in danger. That's why I was away for so long. The Lone One came for me and the Other Powers had to intervene to stop me from being taken. That would also be why I couldn't contact you."

"So you're risking a lot just by being here, aren't you?" Taylor asked. Tatiana nodded.

"Taylor, I don't know what to do anymore…" Tatiana confessed. "I don't even know if I am going to be allowed to stay here." She twisted the chain of her necklace in distress. Taylor reached over and grabbed the hand that was twisting the chain to get her to stop.

"At least you're home now." He whispered. "I'm happy enough with that, and you should enjoy it while you can."

"So, should I say home for now, or home at last?" Tatiana asked, recalling the thing both her parents and Taylor's parents used to joke about.

"Home at last." Taylor replied with a smile.

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**I hope you enjoyed it... I'm not entirely sure where to go from there, though. Review if you want more!**


	2. Forbidden Fruit

A/N: Hey guys! I really need reviews! I need to know how I'm doing and if you like it. Please? It would make me feel better. (gives sad puppy dog look)

Disclaimer: I don't own the YW series. I will only take credit for my characters and part of the plot.

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Chapter Two: Forbidden Fruit

The next day, Tatiana woke early to bright sunshine flooding through the windows in one of the upstairs bedrooms. _Everything seems so perfect, so peaceful,_ she thought. With a sigh, she got out of bed. Thirty minutes later, after a hot shower and a cup of coffee, Tatiana was feeling a lot more awake. She was still pretty tired, though, as she'd only gotten a few hours of sleep. But she had things she needed to do today. _Like go see Tom and Carl,_ she thought. _They owe me an explanation… or maybe I owe them an explanation… _the thought trailed off questioningly as she spoke the words of the spell that Kit called the Beam-Me-Up-Scotty spell. It was easier than drawing a transit circle for such a short distance.

With a very discrete _pop_, Tatiana appeared in a very lovely backyard surrounded on all side by tall, well manicured hedges. Almost instantly, Annie and Monty bombarded her by jumping all over her and trying to slobber on her. This brought a brief smile to her face. It also brought back the memories of the good old days. Barking at her incessantly, the two dogs ran up to the house. She followed at a more leisurely pace, stopping by the koi pond on her way up. The two fish were swimming lazily through the water, paying her and the dogs no heed.

"Annie! Monty! Quiet down!" Someone yelled from the patio. Tatiana looked up and saw Tom standing there, a look of surprise on his face. "Tatiana, you're back!" He said softly.

"I'm home for the time, but that's not what matters." Tatiana replied. "There are more important matters at hand, as I understand. A lot has happened in my absence, from what I've heard." She walked slowly up to the patio.

"Yes, the Lone Power has been giving us a lot of trouble over the past few months." Tom admitted. Then he seemed to come to his senses. "Oh, by all means, do come in! I'm sorry that I seem to have forgotten my manners." Tatiana smiled at this. Tom was still the same polite young man that she'd always known. She followed him into the large airy house, sitting down at the dining room table.

"So…" Tatiana trailed off uncertainly. Even though she hadn't seen Tom in a few months, she couldn't find anything to talk about. And she most certainly didn't want to talk about _that_. At least, not yet anyways. "Where's Carl?" She said rather half-heartedly.

"He got called into work. He left only minutes before you showed up." Tom replied, sitting at the table as well. "Tatiana, I know something's on your mind. Do you want to talk about it?" Once again Tatiana smiled. She could always count on Tom to get right to the point.

"I don't know, it's just that I'm a little insecure after what happened. I feel like I owe you an explanation of some sort, or an apology, or something." Tatiana said quietly.

"For what? You didn't do anything that would require an apology and I already know most of what happened, so you don't need to explain anything." Tom said. Tatiana sighed in relief.

"Thank the Powers! I don't think I would have known what to say otherwise." She explained. "I do hope you know, though, that I can't stay for long."

"I understand. To be honest, I didn't even expect you to come back." Tom replied. There were a few moments of silence. "There's something else on your mind, isn't there?" He asked.

"Just some dreams… and the lack of them at the same time." Tatiana answered.

"I'm… confused." Tom said, unable to express how confused he really was.

"I've been having dreams about a tree… It had fruit on it referred to as the Forbidden Fruit. Would you happen to know anything about what it means?" Tatiana asked.

"I have an idea, but you might have better luck with Nita on that one." Tom supplied. "Now what about your lack of dreams. What do you mean by that?"

"It's not really much to be concerned about. I just haven't been having dreams about… certain things. Not even nightmares, after all that happened… What I would be concerned about is that I _want_ dreams, even if they are nightmares." Tatiana explained. "It's just got me worried." She added in a low voice.

"Now _that_ I can help with." Tom said. "I should explain. I can't make you have dreams, but if it helps, that behavior is normal for someone who's gone through what you did. Given time, you will probably start having dreams… very vivid dreams, at that."

"Well, that's a relief." Tatiana said, still sounding unsure. "What would I ever do without you?" She asked with a hopeless smile.

"I imagine that you'd be doing everything you're doing now." Tom replied in a light tone, despite the fact that the words he spoke resounded with genuine, undeniable truth.

"I suppose you're right. I'm gonna miss your advice if I have to leave again." Tatiana said. Although she'd said _if_ they both knew she meant _when_.

"We'll see each other again, one way or another." Tom told her. "Don't forget, there's always Time Heart." They got up and he walked her to the door.

"I know. It just breaks my heart to leave all I've known." Tatiana confessed. "If I am unable to return to my house, do me a favor and make sure it falls into the right hands. The secrets in that house alone could be devastating."

"Don't worry, I will." Tom promised. "If you can, please try to come visit before you have to leave again to tell Carl and me goodbye."

"Always, Tom," Tatiana said. "How could I leave without saying goodbye?"

"I know, I know…" Tom trailed off as he opened the patio door. "Do take care, Tatiana."

"I will," She answered. "You try to do likewise. And tell Carl I said hi." Tom closed the door behind her after saying that he would, leaving Tatiana standing there in the early morning sunlight. _I wonder, is it too early to go see the others?_ Tatiana wondered. She decided it was at least worth a shot. Using the same spell that she'd used to get to Tom's house, she appeared in the small patch of trees in Nita's backyard. There was a brief bout f commotion within the house before Nita emerged from the back door followed closely by Dairine and Roshaun. They all stopped when they saw Tatiana walk from the cover of the trees.

"Tatiana, you've come home!" Nita exclaimed softly. There was a brief pause before Nita ran to Tatiana and hugged her. Dairine was quick to follow. Over the few years that they'd known one another, Tatiana and the girls had become very close. They always had each others' backs on missions and they were always there for each other when one of them needed a friend to talk to.

"Of course I came back. They couldn't keep me from my home for too long, even if They were bent on protecting me." Tatiana said, referring to the Powers. "So, where's Kit?"

"Are you kidding? He's probably still sleeping." Dairine chimed. Her tone was vaguely amused.

"I saw that thought, and that's not funny." Roshaun said as he walked over at his own pace. While he and Tatiana knew each other well and were friends, they weren't really close.

"It's funny and you know it." Dairine said. "You're just sticking up for Kit because you're a guy." Nita started laughing as she saw what Dairine had been thinking.

"That would be a funny, but cruel way for Kit to be woken up." She said snickering. Tatiana smiled to see her friends so blatantly happy. It was one of those rare moments when things seemed so peaceful. It made all that had been happening seem so distant. _At least they seem to be less distant_, Tatiana thought.

"So, what brings you here so early in the morning?" Roshaun asked to draw the conversation away from whatever cruel thoughts the girls were having about waking Kit up… although they were vaguely amusing.

"What, I can't come visit my friends after not seeing them for about three months?" Tatiana questioned in a light tone.

"Roshaun's got a point." Nita said sitting up from rolling on the ground laughing. "No matter how long it's been since someone's seen their friends people usually wait until a more decent hour to visit."

"Yeah, so what's up?" Dairine asked. She always had a way of getting right to the point, just like Tom. _Those Seniors rub off on these kids more than they realize_, Tatiana thought.

"Well, I'd been hoping to put off the business part of my visit, but I suppose I may as well tell you now." She said. "Nita, this'll probably be something you could help me with more. I've been having odd dreams about this tree that bears fruit. In the dream the fruit is called the Forbidden Fruit. I _know_ it means something, but I don't know what. I was wondering if you could tell me what it means."

"Someone could be trying to send you a message." Nita said. "Lucid dreaming seems to work in odd ways. I would suggest looking for clues in the dream. It might help to record the dream in your manual. Anything beyond that, though, I'm not sure. I would have to research the subject."

"Okay, thanks." Tatiana said. "The sooner I find out what it means the better. So, all that's been happening here doesn't seem to be affecting you guys much. On the contrary, it seems to be making you more… boisterous and carefree."

"Do we seem that way?" Roshaun asked.

"To me, but then again, I've been going through a rather tough time so even the lightest hint of happiness makes me think such things." Tatiana explained. "So how _have_ you all been doing?"

"Oh, we've been alright. Fortunately the missions we've had haven't been too tough. They were, after all, only side effects of something larger." Nita said. Tatiana nodded, watching wistfully as Roshaun sat down next to Dairine and pulled her close. Oh what she would give to be in _his_ arms, however briefly and for whatever reasons.

"So, is there anything on the agenda for today?" Tatiana asked.

"Well, we were planning to go to Central Park, as soon as Kit gets himself out of bed and gets his but over here." Nita said. Almost as soon as she uttered those words, there was a discrete pop of air.

"Speak of the Devil," Dairine began.

"And the Devil shall appear," Nita finished with a smile, for at that moment Kit came walking out of the small patch of trees.

"Hey, Tatiana, you're back!" He said with a smile.

"They couldn't keep me away from you guys forever, you know." Tatiana replied. Her answering smile was dazzling. It felt so good to be back amongst her friends.

"Well, now that you've decided to grace us with your presence, we can leave." Roshaun said. He'd been waiting all morning to go to the park.

"Awww, but I just got here." Kit said with a puppy dog look. "Don't I get breakfast first?" He asked.

"Didn't you eat at your house?" Dairine asked.

"Yeah, but I was hoping for some leftover pancakes from the other morning." Kit replied matter-of-factly.

"Sorry, but _someone_ seems to have an insatiable sweet tooth." Nita said throwing a look at Roshaun. "They were all eaten this morning."

"I can't help it that they were just _so_ amazing." Roshaun countered. Tatiana laughed.

"Why don't we continue this conversation at the park?" Dairine asked. It seemed that Roshaun wasn't the only one who was eager to go.

"Okay, okay, let's go then since you're all so eager to leave." Nita said. As a group, they began constructing the spell that would take them to the closest remote location to Central Park.

They ended up spending most of the day in the park. They got fast food for lunch and had a little picnic beneath the large trees in the park. The weather stayed fairly cool, despite the fact that it was nearing the middle of summer. But the entire day was rather enjoyable. Tatiana found herself forgetting her troubles and slipping back into the way things used to be. Until, that is, she saw the one thing she'd never expected to see on that day, in such a place. On a whim, Tatiana had looked over at a tree where a dark figure had caught her eye. At first she had passed the person off as just someone random, but then she noticed the inhuman beauty of the man and the cold look with which she was so accustomed to seeing on only one person. Her heart seemed to stop at the thought.

"Tatiana, are you okay?" Nita asked. Tatiana tore her gaze away from the man to look at Nita.

"Huh? Oh, yeah I'm okay." She said, although it was only half true.

"What were you looking at?" Nita asked, turning to look herself. By now, though, the man had gone.

"Oh, something caught my eye, but it was just someone standing against the tree. I had thought it was something else." Tatiana replied. "Listen, it's getting pretty late, and I'm rather tired. I didn't get much sleep last night, so I'm gonna go ahead and go home." This at least was true. It may not have been the reason she wanted to go home, but she was tired.

"Okay," Kit said. "It was nice seeing you. Contact one of us tomorrow and maybe we can do something else together."

"Sure," Tatiana said. Everyone said their goodbyes and Tatiana stepped into the transit circle to go home. The others covered for her to make sure no one saw.

Once she was home, Tatiana didn't waste time lingering outside. She hurried inside, activating the spells that would safeguard the house against any kind of magic. She'd been certain of what she saw in the park and didn't want to take chances. Feeling slightly relieved, Tatiana went into the dining room only to stop in her tracks when she saw what was lying on the table. _Hello, what's this?_ She thought. It was a shiny golden apple she realized wasn't as she drew closer. It looked mouth watering and she was tempted to pick it up and take a bite, but she knew better. Until she knew what it was _exactly _she couldn't eat it. Instead, she said a spell that would preserve it until she took the spell off the fruit.

As she climbed the stairs, she began to ponder the source of the fruit. Who had sent it to her and why? She would have to do some digging to find out what she needed to know, but she was getting used to doing that sort of thing. With a sigh she sat down on her bed, realizing just how tired she was. She ran a hand through her hair in a curious gesture, trying to decide if she wanted to attempt to stay awake or if she wanted to go to bed now. After a few minutes she decided it would be best to get some sleep. Her body protested when she got up to close the curtains and turn on the lamp, but in a matter of minutes she was back in bed, asleep, not even bothering to change…

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As soon as she got home, Nita sat down and started looking through her manual. She knew she'd heard about the Forbidden Fruit before, but where? The others all sat down at the dining room table.

"Wow, I haven't seen you this determined in a while." Dairine said. "What's got you in such an intense mood?"

"You know how Tatiana asked me to research what she'd been dreaming about?" Nita said. Dairine nodded. "Well, I was thinking earlier, and I realized that I've heard about the Forbidden Fruit before. I just can't place where."

"It does ring a bell…" Kit chimed in. "What I want to know, though, is if it has to do with wizardry or something ordinary." There were a few moments of silence.

"I recall hearing _something_ about it." Dairine said. "But I don't remember what it was or where I had heard about it."

"Wait, here's something in the manual." Nita said. "It says that the Forbidden Fruit could possibly be referring to the Golden Apples from the Garden of Hesperides."

"Now I remember _that_." Dairine said. "That was from a story in Greek Mythology. I don't recall the apples being referred to as the Forbidden Fruit, though."

"Well, we all know that Greek Mythology and Greek Gods are all based on the Powers That Be." Kit stated. "So maybe it has something to do with that."

"Hold on, there's something else here." Nita said hurriedly. She sat down and put her manual on the table. "It says here that the Lone Power's 'gift' is sometimes represented in a physical form. One of the forms used had been a tree bearing golden apples… similar to the tree from the Garden of Hesperides."

"That's probably where he got the idea from." Roshaun suggested.

"That would also be why it's called the Forbidden Fruit." Dairine said. "Any gift of his is essentially forbidden to all wizards, so if the golden apples represent his gift then…" She trailed off.

"So, what would it mean if someone ate the Forbidden Fruit, what would that mean?" Kit asked.

"Hmmm, let's see," Nita said scanning the page. "Ah, it says here that if it is offered to an individual and they accept it, or eat it, then they will essentially belong to the Lone Power." A sort of horrified silence followed her words.

"Then Tatiana…" Dairine said quietly.

"We have to tell her, now." Nita said.

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Tatiana sat up and stretched. She looked at the clock, yawning. _It's only 2:30 in the morning_, she thought. She was still tired, but she was also hungry. She would eat and then go back to bed. Having decided this, she got up and made her way downstairs. The house was still and quiet, like always. _Even after living on my own for so long, I still find that slightly unnerving_, she thought. Once in the kitchen, she headed straight for the fridge to see if she had any non-perishable foods in there. Not finding anything, she moved to the pantry. There was stuff to eat in here, but nothing looked good. She was about to give up and see if there were any restaurants open this late, but as she passed the door to the dining room, she caught sight of the apple.

_That apple looks really good,_ Tatiana thought wistfully. She knew she shouldn't eat it, but she was really hungry and there was nothing else good to eat. _Surely it can't hurt anything to eat it,_ she thought, picking it up. Its glossy surface glittered in the dim light from the kitchen. For a while she just sat there looking at it. Something in the back of her mind told her not to eat it because it was too much like her dream, but the tired and hungry part of her mind said that it was just a dream. Besides, she'd never seen the fruit in her dreams, so she didn't know for sure that it was an apple. Surely if this apple was the forbidden fruit, she would know. She opened her mouth to take a bite.

"Tatiana, no!" Nita shouted, running into the dining room, closely followed by Kit, Dairine, and Roshaun. It was too late though. Tatiana had already taken a bite.

"What's wrong?" Tatiana asked, rather startled. "And how were you able to get past my spells?"

"We weren't able to. We had to transit to the border of your property." Kit explained. "Then we were able to get in that way. You left the back door unlocked."

"And as for what's wrong, that fruit was the Forbidden Fruit." Dairine said horrified. "We found out that the Forbidden Fruit is a term applied to one of the Lone One's 'gifts'." Tatiana shook her head in dismay, the apple slipping from her hand. It hit the floor with a muffled thud.

"No," She whispered.

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**A/N: Again I'll ask that you please review! I know I included a little Greek Mythology (which, might I add, took a bit of research). I worked really hard on this chapter so please, please review! I may not post more for a while. First of all I'm not sure where to take the story, and school's gonna be starting up again so I won't have as much time to work on it. I still hope you stay with me till the end!**


	3. Hide and Seek

**AN: Yay! I updated! Chapter three is here for your enjoyment! Sorry it took so long, but it's been hectic around here. I'll try and update faster next time. Anyways, I'll let you read now.**

**Disclaimer:** **I do not own the Young Wizard Series. If I did, I would be rich and I so obviously am not.**

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****Chapter Three: Hide and Seek**

As the events of the other day passed through her mind, Tatiana shuddered. How could something like that have happened? What had compelled her to take a bite of that apple? She _knew_ she should have checked it first, yet she had taken a bite anyways. Nita had explained to her what it meant, so Tatiana knew well what would eventually happen, unless she could find a way to foil _his_ plans. As it stood right now, she didn't know what to do, but she had to figure something out if she wanted to escape what was going to happen. Shaking her head in dismay, she pushed herself up off the sand and looked out to the water. Needing some place quiet and solitary to think, Tatiana had gone to one of the secluded beaches. However, storm clouds could be seen in the distance out over the ocean and they were heading this way. There was no use staying here just to worry about what could happen. Throwing her transit circle onto the sand, she stepped into it and spoke the words to activate the spell. A few seconds later she was emerging from the small cluster of trees in Nita's back yard. She jogged up to the back door and knocked.

"Go ahead and come on in!" Someone yelled from inside. Tatiana pushed open the door and slipped inside. "We're in the living room." Now that she was inside, Tatiana could identify the voice and being Dairine's. Following the sound of people talking quietly, Tatiana made her way to the living room only to be brought up short by what she saw. There were books every where, open on the floor and on the coffee table.

"Hello, what's all this for?" She asked. Tom and Carl looked up from the books they were studying so intently.

"We're trying to help you find a way to cancel the effects of eating that apple." Carl explained. As he mentioned what she'd done, a fresh wave of guilt washed over her.

"I'm so sorry," She said. "All I do is cause trouble for you guys. You know you don't have to do this."

"We want to do this." Nita said. "And you don't cause us trouble. The Lone Power does. If it wasn't for him, we'd all be happily enjoying a nice day right now."

"Actually, it's going to rain." Tatiana informed them. "I was just down at the beech and I saw a storm approaching."

"Hmm, that's odd. The weather man didn't predict a storm for today." Kit said as he flipped through the pages of a particularly thick book. Tatiana carefully walked into the living room, avoiding stepping on anyone or anything.

"You know how unpredictable weather is." Roshaun commented. He too was pouring over the contents of a book. "Hey, Dairine, why don't you see what Spot has to say about the weather. He is accurate about that sort of thing, isn't he?" Roshaun asked.

"Of course he is." Dairine snapped. As always, she was testy when it came to questioning Spot's abilities. She closed her eyes for a few moments and Spot appeared out of nowhere. Without hesitation, Dairine flipped open his cover and started typing away. It was a while before she spoke.

"You know," She said, "I think Kit was on to something. The radar isn't showing anything resembling a storm for miles in this area. There's a storm down in Avalon, New Jersey, and there's cloud cover all over the place, but no storms in this area." Nita put her book down and went to go see for herself.

"She's right, there're no storms in the area." Nita commented. "Are you sure you saw a storm approaching?" She asked, turning to Tatiana.

"I'm certain. I could even show you." Tatiana said.

"Perhaps you should." Tom said. Everyone gratefully put their books down and stretched. After taking a few minutes to compose themselves and put the books into neat stacks, they all got to work setting up the transit circle. Tatiana had to give them the coordinates, but they pretty much handled it on their own. Right as they were about to get into place and close the circle, Tatiana thought of something.

"We should have a sub-routine ready to go, just in case there's danger." She said. "And everyone should activate their shields."

"I've got Spot setting up the sub-routine." Dairine said. With that taken care of everyone stepped into their appropriate places and spoke the necessary words to activate the spell. When they arrived at the beech, Tatiana looked around before glancing out to the ocean to show them the storm.

"Look, there it is." She said, pointing at the storm clouds. They were much closer now.

"Wow, that doesn't look good." Roshaun said. The others nodded in agreement.

"So what do you think is causing it?" Nita asked.

"I don't know. It could be another trick of the Lone One's to distract us." Tom said.

"What do you think we should do about it?" Kit questioned. "It doesn't seem like a good idea to let that thing stay."

"We really don't have any other choice." Dairine said sitting down on the sand. "I had Spot change the view of the radar to show a view of any type of weather magic or anything even remotely related. Right now it's showing all sorts of atmosphere related spells currently running, but this storm system here still isn't showing up. Without knowing the cause and without knowing what it is, we have no way of getting rid of it." She explained. Everyone else plopped down on the sand as well, all wondering what would happen if they let the storm continue getting closer.

"So what do we do?" Nita asked.

"Well, if you surrender Tatiana, I can call of the storm." A cold voice said from behind them. They all scrambled up, pushing Tatiana to the back of the group. The Lone One sauntered slowly closer.

"Demitri," Tatiana whispered. It was only one of his many names, but it was the one that she knew him by.

"Ah, you remember." He said with a dark smile. "So, what do you say to my offer?" He asked.

"We would never strike a deal with _you_and out of all the time we've faced you, you should know that by now." Dairine said before anyone could get a word in.

"A deal? You think I am trying to strike a deal? Oh, that's priceless." He said laughing. "I think even you should know that I'm not stupid enough to try that with two Seniors standing there. Not that they could outmatch me. No, I'm just trying to give you an option other than death. It doesn't matter to me because one way or another, I _will_ get Tatiana." Silence met his words.

"Dairine, is that sub-routine ready?" Roshaun whispered quietly. Dairine nodded slightly, making it look like she was just bowing her head as if in defeat.

"If you want Tatiana, you're gonna have to try harder than that." Roshaun said. Demitri laughed.

"And what makes you think that?" He asked, still laughing.

"Now Dairine," Tom said calmly. Dairine whispered a word in the speech. It was just one word, but it was the word that was needed to complete the spell. For a brief second they saw Demitri's expression darken in anger. Then they were gone.

They appeared in a barren landscape of sorts. The bleak hills and plains that spread before them did not look welcoming. The seven of them stood on top of a hill next to a tree bare of leaves. A harsh wind swept across the landscape, raking through the branches of the tree and rattling them loudly. Everyone huddled close for a few moments while they checked for anything suspicious. As soon as they ensured that they were safe for the moment, they relaxed.

"Okay, we don't have much time, so we're gonna have to make plans fast." Dairine said as she typed away at spot.

"What are we going to do?" Tatiana asked. She hated to feel so helpless.

"How about we play hide and seek?" Nita suggested. This confused Tatiana even more, but before she could ask Nita explained. "We can hop from planet to planet, or even universe to universe until we come up with a better plan. We all know that the Lone One can follow our trail so we can't stay in one place." She explained.

"Isn't that the truth." Kit said. "We certainly had to do that more than once on all of our little jaunts. It even worked during Dairine's Ordeal."

"It worked during ours, too, Kit. Except we didn't hop from planet to planet. It was more like hide and seek within two worlds." Nita commented.

"Well, it seems like you kids have everything under control." Tom said with approval. "That works well for us, because with what just happened I would imagine that Earth isn't going to fare so well until this whole thing is over."

"Yeah, it would probably be a good idea for us to head back. We need to inform the other wizards of Earth on what's going on." Carl said. "If you guys can hang around for a bit, we can send a little backup."

"I think we can spare the time." Dairine said. "But make it fast, because we don't have that long." Carl nodded his understanding.

"Then you guys go well. We hope to see you home again." Tom said. With that he and Carl disappeared, leaving the five of them alone. There was a moment of silence.

"So," Kit said slowly. "Who do you think they're gonna sent as backup?" He asked. No one knew what to expect, though. Tom and Carl could send someone they were familiar with, or the two Seniors could send someone they have never met before.

"I'm kind of hoping for someone we know, hopefully someone with power. We're going to need a lot of power to get us through this one." Roshaun said. The others nodded in agreement. Tatiana, who was standing a little apart from the group, just watched as they all settled down to wait. Dairine had done a cloaking spell before running the sub-routine spell. Everyone knew it wouldn't completely stop their enemy, but it would slow him down considerably. Tatiana sighed and sat down on the ground. She hated running. What she wanted more than anything was to turn around and face the Lone One like she would have in the good old days. _Demitri,_ she thought to herself. _Why would you do something like this? This wasn't the person I knew._ Even as she was thinking this, she knew that it wasn't her thinking it. Yet at the same time... it was.

* * *

**AN: So how did you like it? Please, I need reviews! I'll die if I don't have them!... Okay, so maybe I won't die. Do you guys even read the AN's? Oh well, if you do please review!**


	4. Author's Note IMPORTANT!

**This is just an aithors note. I know this is silly, but I'm not getting any reviews (except one, for which I am eternally greatful). So here's the deal, and this is directed towards those who have read or are reading my story and happen to like it or think it's okay. I am not going to update anymore until I get more reviews, unless I get a really good idea of course. I might not even continue the story until I get more reviews or at least requests to continue. I have no idea what you guys want because I have almost quite litterally _no reviews_. I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just letting you know what's going on. I would at least like to know that people are readoing my stories, if nothing else. I hope this has influenced ya'll to give me some sort of reply or review. By the way, I have another story up. It's a one shot called Death. If you're interested you should check it out. Well, that's all. See ya!**


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